Surge in Covid-19 cases due to lax attitude: AIIMS Director

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Citing public carelessness as the primary reason for sudden spike in Covid-19 cases across India, All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS)’s director Dr Randeep Guleria on Friday said that people took pandemic protocols very casually after infections came down in February.

“Rising number of Covid-19 cases is definitely worrisome at this point. Covid appropriate behaviour such as maintaining social distance, washing hands, wearing masks and avoiding non-essential tasks wasn’t taken seriously soon after cases slipped in February. This has cost us heavily,” Dr. Guleria told myGov.in.

AIIMS director stressed upon the importance of covid protocols and said casual behaviour would lead to multiplication of cases in a merciless manner.

“Many people now feel the infection has only mild symptoms and hence they don’t want to adhere to the restrictions. But if they show some amount of patience and follow the rules religiously for some more time, we’ll be able to bring down the spike eventually,” Dr. Guleria asserted.

India reported as many as 81,466 new COVID-19 cases and 469 deaths in the last 24 hours, Health Ministry informed. With this, India’s total covid count has reached 1,23,03,131. Meanwhile, a total of 1,63,396 casualties have been reported till now due to the virus.

The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), on Friday informed,  11,13,966 samples were tested for the pathogen on Thursday while a total of 24,59,12,587 samples have been tested so far.

Dr. Guleria also advised for rapid testing and vaccination to bring down further multiplication of cases in the country.

“Testing and vaccination are very crucial at this point. Also, if a person tests positive for the virus, his/her family members must isolate themselves immediately irrespective of whether they show symptoms of the virus or not,” AIIMS director explained

Listen from Dr. Randeep Guleria, Director, AIIMS, New Delhi explain how robust testing, tracking, isolation and vaccination help India control the surge of #COVID19 cases. #IndiaFightsCorona @MoHFW_India @PIB_India @MIB_India pic.twitter.com/PjoiiOHHI5

— MyGovIndia (@mygovindia) April 2, 2021

Meanwhile, the vaccination drive for people above 45 years of age kick started on April 1 with more than 2.2 billion people registering for the dose on the first day.